Good morning folks! I’ve been a member on your forum here for a couple weeks but I haven’t posted til now. I’ve been too busy reading and learning. I’ll try to keep this intro short. I’m 28 years old and live in Boiling Springs, NC ( well really next to the csx tracks in Lattimore but my heart is still in BS). Anyway my wife and I are expecting our first child in May and I thought it would be a good idea to get my old Lionel train sets out and put it up around the room on a shelf. I had forgot that as a child I had broken the engine of one and the other didn’t work when I bought it at a yard sale. So we figured we’d just buy another one from the hobby shop… til we saw the prices [:0][V]. Boy, these people have lost their minds! $1,200 for a steamer? I quickly figured out I am not O scale material. My brother called me up and said to come and get this HO scale train he picked up at a flea market for a few dollars. I think I’ve found a home in HO scale.
Now my first love besides the Lord and my family is hunting- mainly ducks and coons but whatevers in season is fine. I’ve always been pretty intrigued by those elaborate model railroad layouts and I think this is something that would be fun to collect and piddle with until I’m ready to build a layout. But until then I appreciate the conversation on here and thanks for letting me hangout and learn a little.
I agree with you on the old Lionel stuff. Its crazy what some people will pay. Why not get yourself a 4x8 sheet of plywood and start building something? Collecting is fun but playing with them is more fun. Just a suggestion.
Lots of good information gets posted here. Feel free to hang out and read, or to post questions.
If you’re really just getting involved in model railroading you’ll probably want to read what you can find on the subject. Don’t know if you have a public library nearby that might have a subscription to Model Railroader, or whether you have a decent LHS (Local Hobby Shop) anywhere nearby. There’s no substitute for wandering through a hobby shop where you can handle and feel the stuff, get a good idea of what is available, and hopefully get some good advice from the owner.
There are also a number of websites that have some information geared towards the new model railroader. You might try, if you haven’t already, the Model Railroader Magazine home page, the Worlds Greatest Hobby website, and the NMRA (National Model Railroading Assoc) website. They all have some useful info.
Yup, you do. You might want to consider updating the profile so the quote shows on your posts. Next time you edit your profile, copy the quote and paste it in the “Signature” boxes (both of them), and it will show up at the bottom of each post you make.
Yessir, ol’ Mark was always good for a quote or two!
howdy duck!..and welcome…you hit the nail on the head…I wish i could afford O scale stuff but did the same thing…i’m in the HO mode and it serves it’s purpose…I think sometimes for too long…been modeling since 1978 but for some reason i’m never bored with it…guess it keeps my hands busy so that i don’t turn into a woman chas’in bar fly or anything like that…besides…the good Lord doesn’t want me to take that path so i better stay in his good graces…if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me anytime…i’ll try my best to answer your questions…just remember there are a lot of ways to skin the same cat so don’t get all frustrated if there is more than one way to do things…nothing’s etched in stone in this hobby…sometimes it’s going to be up to you to decide to choose the best way of doing something…again…welcome!..Chuck
Wether you are 8, 18,28- or even almost 49 like myself, it’s never too soon (anod hopefully never too LATE!) to start into a hobby.
Myself, My heart still longs for a nice Lionel Set, but the pocket book is not deep enough due to other expenses.
I have found coming back into the hobby recently that there are some VERY nice things in HO with greater detail right out of the box than ever before.
Pick your Brand, Lifelike, Athearn, Atlas, BLI, they all have what I would consider a wide range of prices and units for you to buy. I think that some of the new stuff coming down that has Digital Sound and that can be run DC or DCC is such a smart thing to do. I am trying to ensure that all of my purchases are at least DCC Ready so if I decide to go that route I can.
Duck, I wish you and your wife a lot of luck. Make sure to get the Grand Paws involved with the train too! There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my Grand Son!
Indeed–the O scale tinplate is aimed at the collector market, but HO scale is more aimed at hobbyists of moderate income.
Think of it like hunting, really–you can buy an inexpensive but reliable Mossberg or spend thousands on some expensive Italian or English shotgun, but an amateur will be well served by either, since skill, experience and good guides will make more difference in how well one hunts than plunking down a bunch of cash at the gun store. Of course, one doesn’t necessarily want to buy a bottom-of-the-barrel beat-up hunk-o-junk shotgun etiher…
And you don’t even have to wait for the season to start…model trains are always in season and require no license!
Welcome Mr. Duck, You have been here longer than me, I just started looking and posting here two days ago. I could probly learn a few things from you already. You can never get or post too many tips for people. These guys that post here are great people.
RCMPMan: Heck, maybe you, Duck, I and SpaceMouse should start a “Model Railroaders with Guns” club…I have never gone hunting but have bagged more than my share of paper targets, plastic jugs and clay pigeons over the years!
[#welcome] Duck, and you’re pardoned. If you can drop by the coffee shop. Please excuse the MESS, [:D]the shop is in the process of expanding to make more room. It does get crowded at times.
You are in luck. Get up to Asheville on March 4 & 5 in the basement of the Civic Center.
WNC Model Railroaders that I am a member of will have their annual train show and layout setup. I will have to get the times, do not have a flyer in hand. Also, its not that far from Asheville. We will be meeting now at the Eliada Home in the barn on the second Thursday of each month at 7pm with some exceptions.
Drop me a note offline and I will share more on this club.
I would repair the engines as you get $ and time. Also, do not through away any boxes if you have them.
[#welcome] and enjoy the forums. You said you hunt ducks and coons? Not MAINE Coons, I hope–they’re really EXPENSIVE cats! I have one named Spooky that is an unabashed caboose thief. Sorry about your Lionels (and yes, aren’t the prices SCARY?), but I hope you enjoy your HO. Speaking for myself, anything I can do to confuse you utterly, just let me know, LOL. Again, welcome.
Tom
I’d really check out those old Lionel engines. When my first son was born, I brought down the old trains out of my parents attic. My brother’s stuff from 1950. The engines were used and abused and not running, but I got them running. Its really simple stuff, and replacement parts are around. Its nice have real Lionel trains around the tree at Christmas.
I’m also pretty much a new guy in this model railroading stuff. Any time I asked a question here, I got many good replys from nice people.
We’ll be going out this Saturday morning for ducks at the mouth of Raritan Bay on the Atlantic. Should be about 10 degees at 5 am. There’s a storm coming in Saturday afternoon/evening, so the birds will be flying. You’re welcome to join us, just bring your warmest clothes and your biggest gun! (I’m just about too old for this ocean shooting in January!)
BDuck- Welcome, and good to see someone who gives a bit of personal history. Congratulations on the soon to be new addition to your family. Hang on to those old Lionel, even broken they might be worth enough to pay for a semester or two by the time junior hits college age!
HO is a blast, you can go as deep or as shallow as you want into it, from superdetailed to track on plywood.
My only advice is to stick with decent quality engines and cars, (as mentioned before) Athearn, Atlas, LifeLike Proto 1000 and 2000 etc, etc. all make the hobby enjoyable, while Tyco, old LifeLike and old Bachman are best used as static displays, or for when the kids want to run trains at 200 MPH.
Again, welcome and hope to hear some hunting and baby and train tales over the coming years!
Welcome Duck,[#welcome]
You will like it here. A great many knowledgeable people, always willing to help.
Sorry to hear about your Lionel trains. Don’t throw them out! They can most likely be repaired at modest cost and are likely worth much more than you think in any condition.[;)]
Enjoy the hobby. You will find a wide variety of locomotives, rolling stock, structures and kits available in HO. With planning and patience you can build a nice pike in a surprisingly small space compared to O or O27.[:)]
Congrats on the new addition to the family.[tup]
Remember, it’s your railroad![:D]
Welcome Duck !!![#welcome][#welcome] I think you have found that most, not all certainly, of the RR modelers are in HO. It is a very good compromise between size, space to set up, availability, and cost. The folks on the forum are really excellent, and help is everywhere. And, congratulations on expecting your first little engineer!!!
The best of successes with your 1st layout !!!
Welcome duck[#welcome][welcome][welcome] Glad to have you aboard, make sur you come and sit a spell in the coffee shop you’ll get to meet and greet all the regulars[8D]Feel free to ask any qiestion you need answered as the old saying goes two heads are better than one or in hte forums case several thousand heads are better than one. [swg] TB